NSC 68 mandated total mobilization of media and intellect for national defense

Evidence

The postwar grand strategy came to be embodied in the secret 1950 document “United States Objectives and Programs for National Security” (NSC 68), described by McCormick as one “of the most pivotal policy documents in American history.” “In its final form,” McCormick writes, “NSC 68 called not only for massive military spending but for significant tax increases to fund it, a reduction of social welfare programs and all services not related to military needs.” It also called for a civil defense program to ensure loyalty among the citizenry, a media propaganda campaign to build and sustain public support, and psychological warfare and propaganda programs abroad. Every aspect of life—social, political, intellectual, and economic—was conceived as playing a role in national defense, and a massive security establishment was constructed. A militaryindustrial complex was put in place. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 747

Categorization

• QUESTION: NSC 68’s explicit call for a media propaganda campaign and loyalty among citizens is a named channel — worth chasing whether it carries anti-Arab content in the 1967-1979 window the reader is investigating.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s existing claim that Cold War legislation enlisted universities in producing imperial knowledge (NDEA), and to Cuba-era media coordination patterns. — connects to: NSC 68 subordinated every aspect of American life to national defense; NSC 68 redesigned total society including welfare cuts and propaganda for defense — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 747

Broader Connections

• NSC 68 redesigned total society including welfare cuts and propaganda for defense #expands (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 747